News Post

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara has described the sectoral debate that started on Tuesday 3rd, May, 2016 as a fulfillment of one of the cardinal commitments of the 8th House of Representatives' legislative agenda.

The Speaker in his welcome address to the parliament stated that the sectoral debate forms part of the contributions of the legislature in the search for a new economy for new Nigeria and it's anchored around robust discussions and briefs by the Hon. Ministers of the Federation, the aftermath of which would be relevant for legislation and enactment of new laws to create an enabling environment for the economy to thrive.

With the leave of Mr. Speaker, the leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila moved the motion that the Chamber rules be suspended to admit the first caller to the Chamber, the Hon. Minister of Information, National Orientation, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Muhammed into the Chambers for the purposes of the sectoral debate on ' Diversification of the Economy: Real Sector Development'. The motion was well seconded and passed.

The Minister bore his mind on what he thinks will work in the tourism sector in relation to diversifying the nation's economic status quo.He posited that through collaborative effort with other government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) the tourism industry could be revamped and repositioned to generate employment and revenues that would boost the Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to about 7%. Adding that recent statistics shows that the contribution of tourism sector to the country's GDP is less than 1.5%.

Responding to well concern and questions from the Legislators who asked what is to be done to assist the tourism industry generate revenue sufficient to diversify the economy,  Alhaji Muhammed called for the establishment of a National Tourism Fund and a review of some laws that have impeded development of the sector. He canvassed for legislation from the legislature that include enacting laws that will create enabling environment for investors in the private and international community to have interest in the industry. “Capacity building, provision of infrastructures and security are also key to developing the sector, we have just signed a Memoranda of Understanding with the British Council for capacity building”, he informed.

Furthermore, the Hon. Minister advocated for the elevation of the nation's aviation sector to global standard, including having a national carrier. He charged that the entry ports into Nigeria by Foreigners for tourist purposes should be more flexible and professional. He further informed that the Ministry of Information, National Orientation, Culture and Tourism is planning on organizing a summit on cultural reserves, noting that the aftermath of the it would form the fulcrum of national policy on tourism and culture.

The lawmakers tasked the Minister on branding and marketing the image of the country including a reorientation of the Nigerian populace on the need to shun violence, negative vices, indiscipline and all what lots that have eroded our once enviable cultural values.